Disney+ has joined a fairly exclusive group of services that have surpassed $2 billion in lifetime global consumer spend through the App Store and Google Play.
The figure comes from App Annie, which said Disney+ is one of only 34 other mobile apps and games as of January 25, 2022, to reach the milestone. Disney+ is one of only five video streaming providers—along with Netflix, YouTube, Tencent Video and iQIYI—among the 34 apps.
App Annie’s State of Mobile 2022 report finds Disney+ as the streaming app with the second-most global app store consumer spend in 2021 behind YouTube.
“International expansion has been a key strategy fueling global growth in 2021. Top markets driving spend in Disney+ were the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Spain, Brazil, Italy and the Netherlands, respectively,” wrote Lexi Sydow, head of insights at App Annie, in a blog post. “It is notable that Disney+ rivals Amazon Prime Video's global footprint in countries where it has seen at least 1 million downloads, despite launching 7 years later on mobile.”
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App Annie attributed Disney+’s mobile success to exclusive content—like “Luca,” which drove a 40% increase in downloads in the U.S.—and the Premier Access strategy that required a subscription and a one-time fee on top of it.
“The pandemic accelerated consumer demand for streaming from the comfort of home and the convenience of the device always at our fingertips: our smartphones. In the US, consumers spent 4.2 hours each day on their mobile devices in 2021, compared to only 3.1 hours watching TV. Mobile streaming and subscriptions have reached new highs in 2021 as companies recognize the change in consumer behavior and harness the power of the small screen,” wrote Sydow.